Thread: PETA has gone too far this time...

PETA- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, has just made ANOTHER stupid move in an effort to garner attention. Their latest target? Mario.



PETA has taken the stance that the Tanooki suit that Mario wears is sending the message that it is okay to wear fur, because tanuki are actual animals in japan. I say bullshit. This argument is 23 years late, targeted at the wrong character, and has bad reasoning behind it. here are the facts: Tanuki are raccoon-dogs that, according to japanese mythology, could hold a leaf to its head and shapeshift, causing trouble. Miamoto liked the idea, and incorporated it into a comic IN THE LATE '80's, by having a character named Tanooki make the suit, which would allow mario to glide, attack, and turn into a statue. Tanooki had a habit of sewing tails onto his works. The power up in the game version is a leaf, referencing the transformative abilities of tanuki. At no point is mario hunting down and skinning tanukis, like PETA is claiming.

The Tanooki suit isn't even used very often in the games. What about the koopas that mario has been 'gutting and stealing the shells from while they are still alive'? What about WoW, or Red Dead Redemption, where you actually skin animals? There are much better candidates, just in video games, than mario for getting your point across, PETA. And what about the magical mushrooms that he eats to become huge, when mushrooms are actually used by druggies? Just from the rarity of the Tanooki suit, this is a moot point.

And not only are they advertising this, they have a decent looking flash game that actually looks like it took quite a bit of effort to create. They are doing this instead of busting more abusers. And any comments about the game have to go through a mod, so in other words, you cannot say a bad word about the game. Even if it is a rational point.

PETA, I appreciate your ideals about stopping animal abuse. This is fine and dandy, but ever since the risque ads, I started to be skeptical about you. Now that you have attacked a staple of video game history, I have lost all faith in what you do. You have made an argument that is long since passed, has no real world consequences, and could be answered officially in a paragraph the same length this sentence is in.

Please note that I am in no way attacking supporters of PETA, especially those out in the field doing the busts. This against PETA itself.

PETA, good luck getting support from any gamer for the next 10 years.